I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4257 

To maximize land management efficiencies, promote land conservation, 

generate education funding, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 6, 2017 

Mr. STEWART (for himself and Mr. POLIS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To maximize land management efficiencies, promote land 

conservation, generate education funding, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Conserva5 tion and Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) at statehood, Congress granted each of the 

9 western States land to be held in trust by the States 


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1 and used for the support of public schools and other 

2 public institutions; 

3 (2) since the statehood land grants, Congress 

4 and the executive branch have created multiple Fed5 eral conservation areas on Federal land within the 

6 western States, including National Parks, National 

7 Monuments, national conservation areas, national 

8 grassland, components of the National Wilderness 

9 Preservation System, wilderness study areas, and 

10 national wildlife refuges; 

11 (3) since statehood land grant land owned by 

12 the western States are typically scattered across the 

13 public land, creation of Federal conservation areas 

14 often include State land grant parcels with substan15 tially different management mandates, making land 

16 and resource management more difficult, expensive, 

17 and controversial for both Federal land managers 

18 and the western States; and 

19 (4) allowing the western States to relinquish 

20 State trust land within Federal conservation areas 

21 and to select replacement land from the public land 

22 within the respective western States, would— 

23 (A) enhance management of Federal con24 servation areas by allowing unified management 

25 of those areas; and 


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1 (B) increase revenue from the statehood 

2 land grants for the support of public schools 

3 and other worthy public purposes. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘application’’ 

7 means an application for State relinquishment and 

8 selection of land made under this Act in accordance 

9 with section 5. 

10 (2) ELIGIBLE AREA.—The term ‘‘eligible area’’ 

11 means land within the outer boundary of— 

12 (A) a unit of the National Park System; 

13 (B) a component of the National Wilder14 ness Preservation System; 

15 (C) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 

16 System; 

17 (D) a unit of the National Landscape Con18 servation System; 

19 (E) an area identified by the Bureau of 

20 Land Management as having wilderness charac21 teristics in a land use plan finalized under 

22 FLPMA; 

23 (F) National Forest System land and pub24 lic land administered by the Bureau of Land 

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1 tional monument, national volcanic monument, 

2 national recreation area, national scenic area, 

3 inventoried roadless area, unit of the Wild and 

4 Scenic Rivers System, wilderness study area, or 

5 Land Use Designation II (as described by sec6 tion 508 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 

7 Conservation Act (Public Law 101–626; 104 

8 Stat. 4428)); or 

9 (G) a sentinel landscape designated by the 

10 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of De11 fense, and the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (3) FLPMA.—The term ‘‘FLPMA’’ means the 

13 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

14 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

15 (4) PRIORITY AREA.—The term ‘‘priority area’’ 

16 means land within the outer boundary of any— 

17 (A) National Monument; 

18 (B) national conservation area managed by 

19 the Bureau of Land Management; 

20 (C) component of the National Wilderness 

21 Preservation System; or 

22 (D) unit of the National Park System. 

23 (5) PUBLIC LAND.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ 

3 in section 103 of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

4 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘public 

5 land’’ does not include Federal land that— 

6 (i) is within an eligible area; 

7 (ii) is within an area of critical envi8 ronmental concern established pursuant to 

9 section 202(c)(3) of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 

10 1712(c)(3)); 

11 (iii) is within an area withdrawn or 

12 reserved by an Act of Congress, the Presi13 dent, or public land order for a particular 

14 public purpose or program, including for 

15 the conservation of natural resources; 

16 (iv) has been acquired using funds 

17 from the Land and Water Conservation 

18 Fund established under section 200302 of 

19 title 54, United States Code; or 

20 (v) is within the boundary of an In21 dian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria. 

22 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 (7) STATE LAND GRANT PARCEL.—The term 

25 ‘‘State land grant parcel’’ means— 


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1 (A) any land granted to a western State by 

2 Congress through a statehood or territorial land 

3 grant for the support of public education or 

4 other public institutions, or subsequently ac5 quired by the western State for that purpose; or 

6 (B) land granted to the State of Alaska 

7 under subsections (a), (b), and (k) of section 6 

8 of the Act of July 7, 1958 (commonly known as 

9 the ‘‘Alaska Statehood Act’’) (48 U.S.C. note 

10 prec. 21; Public Law 85–508). 

11 (8) TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY.—The 

12 term ‘‘traditional cultural property’’ has the mean13 ing given the term— 

14 (A) ‘‘historic property’’ in section 800.16 

15 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

16 effect on the date of enactment of this Act); or 

17 (B) ‘‘sacred site’’ in section 1(b) of Execu18 tive Order 13007 (42 U.S.C. 1996 note; relat19 ing to Indian sacred sites). 

20 (9) WATER RIGHT.—The term ‘‘water right’’ 

21 means any right in or to groundwater, surface 

22 water, or effluent under Federal, State, or other law. 

23 (10) WESTERN STATE.—The term ‘‘western 

24 State’’ means any of the States of Alaska, Arizona, 

25 California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, 


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1 North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Wash2 ington, and Wyoming. 

3 SEC. 4. RELINQUISHMENT OF STATE LAND GRANT PAR4 CELS AND SELECTION OF REPLACEMENT 

5 LAND. 

6 (a) AUTHORITY TO SELECT.—In accordance with 

7 this Act and in order to facilitate the fulfillment of the 

8 mandates of State land grant parcels and Federal land 

9 described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of section 

10 3(2), on approval by the Secretary of an application under 

11 section 5, a western State may relinquish to the United 

12 States State land grant parcels wholly or primarily within 

13 eligible areas and select in exchange public land within the 

14 western State. 

15 (b) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—Land conveyed under 

16 this Act shall be subject to valid existing rights. 

17 (c) MANAGEMENT AFTER RELINQUISHMENT.—Any 

18 portion of a State land grant parcel acquired by the 

19 United States under this Act that is located within an eli20 gible area shall— 

21 (1) be incorporated in, and be managed as part 

22 of, the applicable unit described in subparagraphs 

23 (A) through (G) of section 3(2) in which the land is 

24 located without further action by the Secretary with 

25 jurisdiction over the unit; and 


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1 (2) if located within the National Forest Sys2 tem, be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture 

3 in accordance with— 

4 (A) the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly 

5 known as the ‘‘Weeks Law’’) (16 U.S.C. 552 et 

6 seq.); and 

7 (B) any laws (including regulations) appli8 cable to the National Forest System and the 

9 unit of the National Forest System in which the 

10 land is located. 

11 (d) LIMITATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graphs (2) and (3), until a western State has relin14 quished and conveyed to the United States substan15 tially all of the State land grant parcels located in 

16 priority areas in the western State, the western 

17 State may not apply to relinquish State land grant 

18 parcels in other eligible areas in the western State. 

19 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may waive the 

20 limitation in paragraph (1) on a determination that 

21 the relinquishment and conveyance to the United 

22 States of substantially all State land grant parcels 

23 located in priority areas in the western State is im24 practical or infeasible. 


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1 (3) OTHER STATE LAND GRANT PARCELS.—The 

2 Secretary may accept an application from a western 

3 State to relinquish State land grant parcels within 

4 an eligible area in the western State if— 

5 (A) the application is limited to relin6 quishing one or more State land grant parcels 

7 within a single eligible area; 

8 (B) the western State submitting the ap9 plication is, as determined by the Secretary, 

10 making substantial progress in relinquishing 

11 State land grant parcels within priority areas in 

12 the western State; and 

13 (C) the Secretary has not accepted any 

14 other applications from the western State under 

15 this paragraph during the 5-year period ending 

16 on the date of the application. 

17 SEC. 5. PROCESS. 

18 (a) PROCESS FOR APPLICATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act and in 

21 accordance with this section, the Secretary shall pro22 mulgate regulations establishing a process by which 

23 the western States may request the relinquishment 

24 of State land grant parcels wholly or partially within 


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1 eligible areas and select public land in exchange for 

2 the State land grant parcels. 

3 (2) TIMING.—Except as provided in section 

4 8(c), the process established by the Secretary under 

5 this section shall ensure that the relinquishment of 

6 State land grant parcels and the conveyance of pub7 lic land is concurrent. 

8 (b) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Prior to accepting or con9 veying any land under this Act, the Secretary shall provide 

10 public notice and an opportunity to comment on the pro11 posed conveyances between the western State and the 

12 United States. 

13 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro15 vided in this subsection, the Secretary shall acquire 

16 State land grant parcels and convey public land 

17 under this Act in accordance with— 

18 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

19 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 

20 (B) other applicable laws. 

21 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OR ENVI22 RONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—In preparing an 

23 environmental assessment or environmental impact 

24 statement pursuant to section 102(2) of the Na25 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 4332(2)) for the acquisition of State land grant par2 cels and the conveyance of public land under this 

3 Act, if the western State has indicated an unwilling4 ness to consider State land grant parcels for relin5 quishment or public land for acquisition (other than 

6 the State land grant parcels and public land de7 scribed in the proposed agency action), the Secretary 

8 is not required to study, develop, and describe more 

9 than— 

10 (A) the proposed agency action; and 

11 (B) the alternative of no action. 

12 (d) AGREEMENTS WITH STATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

14 to enter into agreements with any of the western 

15 States to facilitate processing of applications and 

16 conveyance of selected land. 

17 (2) AGREEMENT.—On completion of a preappli18 cation process that includes identification of land to 

19 be conveyed, the Secretary and the western State 

20 may enter into a nonbinding agreement that in21 cludes— 

22 (A) a time schedule for completing the con23 veyances; 


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1 (B) an assignment of responsibility for 

2 performance of required functions and for costs 

3 associated with processing the conveyances; and 

4 (C) a statement specifying whether as5 sumption of costs will be allowed pursuant to 

6 section 8(d). 

7 (e) APPROVAL OR REJECTION.—The Secretary— 

8 (1) shall issue a final determination on an ap9 plication not later than 3 years after the date a 

10 western State submits that application to the Sec11 retary; 

12 (2) may approve an application in whole or in 

13 part, or as modified by the Secretary as necessary 

14 to balance the equities of the States and interest of 

15 the public; 

16 (3) shall not accept an application under this 

17 Act for selection of any parcel of public land that in 

18 the judgment of the Secretary— 

19 (A) is not reasonably compact and consoli20 dated; 

21 (B) will create significant management 

22 conflicts with respect to the management of ad23 jacent Federal land; 

24 (C) will significantly adversely affect public 

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1 ble for the collection of recreation fees under 

2 the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

3 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) or other authority; 

4 or 

5 (D) is not in the public interest; 

6 (4) shall not accept any State land grant par7 cels that, in the judgment of the Secretary, are not 

8 suitable for inclusion in the applicable unit described 

9 in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of section 3(2) in 

10 which the land is located; 

11 (5) shall, prior to approving an application, con12 sult with the head of any Federal agency with juris13 diction over Federal land— 

14 (A) within which a western State proposes 

15 to relinquish a State land grant parcel; or 

16 (B) that is adjacent to public land pro17 posed for conveyance to a western State; 

18 (6) shall, prior to approving an application— 

19 (A) consult, in accordance with Federal 

20 law, with any Indian tribe affected by the sub21 ject of the application, including any Indian 

22 tribe that notifies the Secretary that there is 

23 traditional cultural property located within the 

24 public land proposed for conveyance to the 

25 western State; and 


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1 (B) if the Secretary determines that tradi2 tional cultural property is located within the 

3 public land proposed for conveyance to the 

4 western State, consider the extent to which pro5 tection would be available for the traditional 

6 cultural property after conveyance of the public 

7 land to the western State, including terms or 

8 conditions that the Secretary, with the agree9 ment of the western State, may impose on the 

10 conveyance of the public land to the western 

11 State; 

12 (7) may reject an application in whole or in 

13 part if the Secretary, after consideration of available 

14 protection for traditional cultural property located 

15 within the public land proposed for conveyance to 

16 the western State pursuant to paragraph (6)(B), de17 termines that insufficient protection would be avail18 able for the traditional cultural property after con19 veyance of the public land to the western State; 

20 (8) shall, for applications by a western State for 

21 the conveyance of a parcel of public land that will 

22 result in significantly diminished public access to ad23 jacent Federal land— 

24 (A) reject that portion of the application; 

25 or 


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1 (B) reserve a right-of-way through the 

2 public land to be conveyed ensuring continued 

3 public access to adjacent Federal land; and 

4 (9) shall convey any public land approved for 

5 selection not later than 1 year after entering into a 

6 final agreement between the Secretary and the west7 ern State on the land to be conveyed, subject to such 

8 other terms and conditions as may be appropriate. 

9 (f) COSTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—All costs of conveyances 

11 under this Act, including appraisals, surveys, and re12 lated costs, shall be paid equally by the Secretary 

13 and the western State. 

14 (2) ALLOCATION.—The Federal agency that re15 ceives State land in a conveyance under this Act 

16 shall assume the Federal share of administrative 

17 costs, including appraisals, surveys, and related 

18 costs, unless otherwise agreed to by the heads of the 

19 respective agencies. 

20 (g) CONVEYANCE BY WESTERN STATE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The conveyance of any State 

22 land grant parcel under this Act shall— 

23 (A) be by patent or deed acceptable to the 

24 Secretary; and 


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1 (B) not be considered an exchange or ac2 quisition for purposes of sections 205 and 206 

3 of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1715, 1716). 

4 (2) CONCURRENCE.—The Secretary of Agri5 culture shall concur in any determination to accept 

6 the conveyance of a State land grant parcel within 

7 the boundaries of any unit of the National Forest 

8 System. 

9 (h) CONVEYANCE BY UNITED STATES.—The convey10 ance of public land by the United States shall— 

11 (1) not be considered a sale, exchange, or con12 veyance under section 203, 206, or 209 of FLPMA 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1713, 1716, and 1719); and 

14 (2) include such terms or conditions as the Sec15 retary may require. 

16 SEC. 6. MINERAL LAND. 

17 (a) SELECTION AND CONVEYANCE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this Act, a west19 ern State may select, and the Secretary may convey, 

20 land that is mineral in character under this Act. 

21 (2) EXCLUSION.—A western State may not se22 lect, and the Secretary may not convey land that in23 cludes only— 

24 (A) a portion of a mineral lease or permit; 


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1 (B) the Federal mineral estate, unless the 

2 United States does not own the associated sur3 face estate; or 

4 (C) the Federal surface estate, unless the 

5 United States does not own the associated min6 eral estate. 

7 (b) MINING CLAIMS.— 

8 (1) MINING CLAIMS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing in 

9 this Act alters, diminishes, or expands the existing 

10 rights of a mining claimant under applicable law. 

11 (2) VALIDITY EXAMS.—Nothing in this Act re12 quires the United States to carry out a mineral ex13 amination for any mining claim located on public 

14 land to be conveyed under this Act. 

15 (3) WITHDRAWAL.—Public land selected by a 

16 western State for acquisition under this Act is with17 drawn, subject to valid existing rights, from location, 

18 entry, and patent under the mining laws until that 

19 date on which— 

20 (A) the land is conveyed by the Federal 

21 Government to the western State; 

22 (B) the Secretary makes a final determina23 tion not accepting the selection of the land; or 

24 (C) the western State withdraws the selec25 tion of the land. 


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1 SEC. 7. CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAWS. 

2 (a) CONSIDERATION.—In the application of laws, reg3 ulations, and policies relating to selections made under 

4 this Act, the Secretary shall consider the equities of the 

5 western States and the interest of the public. 

6 (b) LAND USE PLAN.—The Secretary may approve 

7 an application submitted in accordance with this Act even 

8 if— 

9 (1) the selected public land is not otherwise 

10 identified for disposal; or 

11 (2) the land to be acquired is not identified to 

12 be acquired in the applicable land use plan. 

13 SEC. 8. VALUATION. 

14 (a) EQUAL VALUE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The overall value of the 

16 State land grant parcels and the public land to be 

17 conveyed shall be— 

18 (A) equal; or 

19 (B) if the value is not equal— 

20 (i) equalized by the payment of funds 

21 to the western State or to the Secretary as 

22 the circumstances require; or 

23 (ii) reflected on the balance of a ledg24 er account established under subsection 

25 (c). 


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1 (2) APPRAISAL REQUIRED.—Except as provided 

2 in subsection (b), the Secretary shall determine the 

3 value of a State land grant parcel and public land 

4 through an appraisal completed in accordance 

5 with— 

6 (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 

7 Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

8 (B) the Uniform Standards for Profes9 sional Appraisal Practice. 

10 (3) EQUALIZATION.—For each transaction, an 

11 equalization payment described in paragraph 

12 (1)(B)(i) or a ledger entry described in paragraph 

13 (1)(B)(ii) may not exceed 25 percent of the total 

14 value of the land or interest transferred out of Fed15 eral ownership. 

16 (b) LOW VALUE PARCELS.— 

17 (1) VALUATION.—The Secretary may, with the 

18 consent of a western State, use a summary appraisal 

19 or statement of value made by a qualified appraiser 

20 carried out in accordance with the Uniform Stand21 ards for Professional Appraisal Practice instead of 

22 an appraisal that complies with the Uniform Ap23 praisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions if 

24 the western State and the Secretary agree that the 


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1 market value of a State land grant parcel or a parcel 

2 of public land is— 

3 (A) less than $500,000; and 

4 (B) less than $500 per acre. 

5 (2) DIVISION.—A State land grant parcel or a 

6 parcel of public land may not be artificially divided 

7 in order to qualify for a summary appraisal or state8 ment of value under paragraph (1). 

9 (c) LEDGER ACCOUNTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and any west11 ern State may agree to use a ledger account to make 

12 equal the value of land relinquished by the western 

13 State and conveyed by the United States to the 

14 western State under this Act. 

15 (2) IMBALANCES.—A ledger account described 

16 in paragraph (1) shall reflect imbalances in value to 

17 be reconciled in a subsequent transaction. 

18 (3) ACCOUNT BALANCING.—Each ledger ac19 count shall be— 

20 (A) balanced not later than 3 years after 

21 the date on which the ledger account is estab22 lished; and 

23 (B) closed not later than 5 years after the 

24 date of the last conveyance of land under this 

25 Act. 


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1 (d) COSTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the west3 ern State may assume costs or other responsibilities 

4 or requirements for conveying land under this Act 

5 that ordinarily are borne by the other party. 

6 (2) ADJUSTMENT.—If the Secretary assumes 

7 costs or other responsibilities under paragraph (1), 

8 the Secretary shall make adjustments to the value of 

9 the public land conveyed to the western State to 

10 compensate the Secretary for assuming the costs or 

11 other responsibilities. 

12 (e) ADJUSTMENT.—If value is attributed to any par13 cel of public land that has been selected by a western State 

14 because of the presence of minerals under a lease entered 

15 into under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

16 seq.) that is in a producing or producible status, and the 

17 lease is to be conveyed under this Act, the value of the 

18 parcel shall be reduced by the amount that represents the 

19 likely Federal revenue sharing obligation under that Act, 

20 but the adjustment shall not be considered as reflecting 

21 a property right of the western State. 

22 SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS. 

23 (a) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the west25 ern States shall make available for review and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Nov 07, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4257.IH H4257

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1 spection any record relating to hazardous materials 

2 on land to be conveyed under this Act. 

3 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary and the 

4 western State shall each complete an inspection and 

5 a hazardous materials certification of land to be con6 veyed under this Act before the completion of the 

7 conveyance. 

8 (b) WATER RIGHTS.— 

9 (1) STATE-HELD APPURTENANT WATER

10 RIGHTS.—Any conveyance of a State land grant par11 cel under this Act may include the conveyance of 

12 State-held water rights appurtenant to the land con13 veyed in accordance with applicable law. 

14 (2) FEDERALLY HELD APPURTENANT WATER

15 RIGHTS.—Any conveyance of public land under this 

16 Act may include the conveyance of federally held 

17 water rights appurtenant to the land conveyed in ac18 cordance with applicable Federal and State law. 

19 (3) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act— 

20 (A) creates an implied or expressed Fed21 eral reserved water right; 

22 (B) affects a valid existing water right; or 

23 (C) affects the use of water conveyance in24 frastructure associated with a water right de25 scribed in subparagraph (B). 


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1 (c) GRAZING PERMITS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—If land conveyed under this 

3 Act is subject to a lease, permit, or contract for the 

4 grazing of domestic livestock in effect on the date of 

5 the conveyance, the Secretary (or the Secretary of 

6 Agriculture for land located within the National For7 est System) and the western State shall allow the 

8 grazing to continue for the remainder of the term of 

9 the lease, permit, or contract, subject to the related 

10 terms and conditions of user agreements, including 

11 permitted stocking rates, grazing fee levels, access, 

12 and ownership and use of range improvements. 

13 (2) RENEWAL.—On expiration of any grazing 

14 lease, permit, or contract described in paragraph 

15 (1), the party that has jurisdiction over the land on 

16 the date of expiration may elect to renew the lease, 

17 permit, or contract if permitted under applicable 

18 law. 

19 (3) CANCELLATION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act 

21 prevents the Secretary (or the Secretary of Ag22 riculture for land located within the National 

23 Forest System) or the western State from can24 celing or modifying a grazing permit, lease, or 

25 contract if the land subject to the permit, lease, 


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1 or contract is sold, conveyed, transferred, or 

2 leased for nongrazing purposes. 

3 (B) LIMITATION.—Except to the extent 

4 reasonably necessary to accommodate surface 

5 operations in support of mineral development, 

6 the Secretary (or the Secretary of Agriculture 

7 for land located within the National Forest Sys8 tem) or the western State shall not cancel or 

9 modify a grazing permit, lease, or contract for 

10 land conveyed pursuant to this Act because the 

11 land subject to the permit, lease, or contract 

12 has been leased for mineral development. 

13 (4) BASE PROPERTIES.—If land conveyed by 

14 the western State under this Act is used by a graz15 ing permittee or lessee to meet the base property re16 quirements for a Federal grazing permit or lease, 

17 the land shall continue to qualify as a base property 

18 for the remaining term of the lease or permit and 

19 the term of any renewal or extension of the lease or 

20 permit. 

21 (5) RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—Nothing in this 

22 Act prohibits a holder of a grazing lease, permit, or 

23 contract from being compensated for range improve24 ments pursuant to the terms of the lease, permit, or 

25 contract under existing Federal or State laws. 


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1 (d) ROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAYS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—If land conveyed under this 

3 Act is subject to a road lease, road right-of-way, 

4 road easement, or other valid existing right in effect 

5 on the date of the conveyance, the Secretary (or the 

6 Secretary of Agriculture for land located within the 

7 National Forest System) and the western State shall 

8 allow the lease, right-of-way, easement, or other 

9 valid existing right to continue for the remainder of 

10 the term of the lease, right-of-way, easement, or 

11 other valid existing right, subject to the applicable 

12 terms and conditions of the lease, right-of-way, ease13 ment, or other valid existing right. 

14 (2) RENEWAL.—On expiration of any road 

15 lease, road right-of-way, road easement, or other 

16 valid existing right described in paragraph (1), the 

17 party that has jurisdiction over the land on the date 

18 of expiration may elect to renew the lease, right-of19 way, easement, or other valid existing right if per20 mitted under applicable law. 

21 (e) PROTECTION OF INDIAN RIGHTS.— 

22 (1) TREATY RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act al23 ters or diminishes the treaty rights of any Indian 

24 tribe. 


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1 (2) LAND HELD IN TRUST.—Nothing in this 

2 Act affects— 

3 (A) land held in trust by the Secretary for 

4 any Indian tribe; or 

5 (B) any individual Indian allotment. 

6 (3) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act alters, di7 minishes, or enlarges the application of— 

8 (A) division A of subtitle III of title 54, 

9 United States Code (formerly known as the 

10 ‘‘National Historic Preservation Act’’ (16 

11 U.S.C. 470 et seq.)); 

12 (B) the Native American Graves Protec13 tion and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et 

14 seq.); 

15 (C) Public Law 95–341 (commonly known 

16 as the ‘‘American Indian Religious Freedom 

17 Act’’) (42 U.S.C. 1996); 

18 (D) chapter 3125 of title 54, United States 

19 Code; or 

20 (E) the Archaeological Resources Protec21 tion Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.). 

22 SEC. 10. EFFECT. 

23 Nothing in this Act repeals or limits, expressly or by 

24 implication, any authority in existence on the date of en25 actment of this Act for the selection or exchange of land. 


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1 SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the pro3 visions of this Act shall cease to be effective with regard 

4 to any State land grant parcel located within an eligible 

5 area for which an application has not been filed by the 

6 date that is 20 years after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (b) NEW ELIGIBLE AREAS.—If the application de9 scribed in subsection (a) is for a State land grant parcel 

10 that is located within an eligible area established after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the provisions of this Act 

12 shall remain effective for 20 years after the date on which 

13 the new eligible area is established. 

Æ 


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